


Papa's Fishing Boat

by seekingferret



Category: All-of-a-Kind Family - Sidney Taylor
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 07:59:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11870007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingferret/pseuds/seekingferret
Summary: None of the girls were allowed on the boat until they turned eighteen and were properly trained in all of the safety rules.





	Papa's Fishing Boat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fawatson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fawatson/gifts).



Papa's junk shop was not far from the East River. After a visit to Papa's shop, the sisters would sometimes walk over to the piers. They could watch the boys swimming in the river, or wave shyly at the longshoremen with their striped wool shirts and their thick brown mustaches hauling crates and barrels on and off the cargo boats. 

Charlotte's favorite thing to do on the piers was climb on the railings and watch the small fishing and oystering boats zip around in the wind. She would imagine sitting in one of those boats, feeling the wind through her hair! Henny would worry that Charlotte would fall off the railing into the water, and tell her to climb down, or at least to be more careful in how she held onto the railing. 

"I'm careful!" Charlotte said, but gripped the railing a little more harder anyway. She didn't want to fall off, or she would have to admit to Henny that she was right. "I'm imagining what it would be like if Papa were a fisherman."

"Oh, how fun that would be!" Sarah exclaimed. "Papa could bring home fresh fish for Mama to put in her gefilte fish. She wouldn't have to go to the market for her fish, because Papa would get them straight out of the river."

"But we could still go to the market, right?" Gertie asked anxiously. She didn't want to lose her chances to buy candy and knishes from the dozens of brightly colored pushcarts selling their wondrous wares on the market street. 

"Of course, Gertie. Mama would still need to buy chickens and beans and things. We could still go the market." Gertie looked relieved. 

"Come on now, Charlotte. Get down from the rail, you're getting dirt all over your dress," Ella said. "You'll have to brush it off before we go home or Mama will be cross with you." Reluctantly, Charlotte climbed down, taking one last look at a bright blue sailboat with two fisherman hanging over its stern with fishing lines trailing in the boat's wake.

On the whole trip home, Charlotte described Papa's boat to her sisters. "It has a bright white sail, as crisp as a starched linen tablecloth, gleaming in the reflected sunlight. Papa's fishing rods hang over the bow and he stands between the rods and the tiller, keeping a careful eye on everything he sees."

Gertie and Charlotte were so wrapped in Charlotte's stories that they didn't notice the thoughtful, mischievous look in their sister Henny's eye as they kept walking.

 

At supper that evening, Mama served gefilte fish. The tangy, creamy fish was delicious and all of the members of the All of a Kind family eagerly ate it up.

"Do you know where Mama got the fish, Charlotte?" Henny asked, teasingly.

"Where?"

"From Papa's secret fishing boat."

"What's this about my fishing boat?" Papa asked, a twinkle in his eye. 

"Charlotte was saying earlier today when we were watching boats at the pier that she was thinking about you being a fisherman. I know you told us it was supposed to be a secret until each of us turn ten years old, but she must have guessed somehow about your fishing boat."

"What fishing boat?" Papa asked, seeming perplexed. 

"It's okay, Papa, the cat's out of the bag. The boat you keep on Pier 16 and take out on Sundays and afternoons when it's quiet in the junk shop to go fishing."

Papa sighed and furrowed his brow. "I suppose it's okay to tell you younger girls about it now. You're very mature for your age. The reason why I kept it a secret is because safety is very important when it comes to sailing and I didn't know if I could trust you not to secretly stow aboard for a ride. Nobody is allowed to ride on the boat until they've been properly trained in all of the rules of safe sailing. Even Ella has never been allowed on the boat. Isn't that right, Ella?"

"Yes, Papa," Ella said. "When I'm eighteen, Papa has promised he'll teach me."

 

Charlotte's eyes got bright and huge. "Wow, Papa, I had no idea, I promise. I was just telling Gertie stories from my imagination. This is so exciting! Can we go to see your boat? I promise I won't go on board or break any other rules." She got up from her seat and walked over to where Papa was sitting.

"Well, I don't know. I'll have to think about whether you've earn..." he trailed off when he saw the look on Mama's face across the table.

"Morris, this has gone far enough!" Her face was deep red and she looked about as angry as Ella ever remembered seeing it. Suddenly, remembering herself, she took a deep breath, cleared the color from her face, and turned to the suddenly terrified Charlotte with a kindly smile. 

"Charlotte, your Papa doesn't have a boat."

Charlotte looked confused. 

"Henny was just teasing you when she said Papa had a boat. I'm sorry she got your hopes up. I buy all of the fish for the gefilte fish from the market. You've seen me buying it when I took you along with me."

Papa looked ashamed. "Your mama's right. It was just a sort of game Henny and I were playing, pretending I have a boat. I'm far too busy with the shop to have any time for fishing. I'm sorry, Charlotte. I shouldn't have lied to you."

Stung, Charlotte returned to her seat, wiping tears from her eyes with her napkin. She didn't say a word for the rest of the meal, no matter how much Gertie and Ella enticed her with pleas to tell stories. She barely touched her food. Mama was distraught, and angry with herself for failing to stop Henny's game before it got out of hand. 

 

The very next day after school, the sisters went back to the East River piers. Charlotte climbed back up on the railing and imagined her Papa's fishing boat once more. It was the finest fishing boat in the whole harbor, she decided, and it didn't matter one bit that it wasn't real.


End file.
